Royal Reboot: Level up, Your Majesty!

The Handmaid’s Tale 

2

Lunchtime at St. Kevin’s was always the same. First came the excited chatter as students crowded into the cafeteria, lining up for the day’s hot meal.

What was on the menu today again? Something with red beans. Supposedly good for the brain. The sandwich bar was also open, offering slightly less fresh options: salami, ham, cheese, and an assortment of pickled things no one asked for.

Around her, tables buzzed with laughter and conversation. But Eydis’s table sat in awkward silence. Natalia, usually the glue that held their group together, was missing.

Eydis narrowed her eyes. It wasn’t just Natalia’s absence that unsettled her.

That feeling was back.

“Hey, you okay?” Colette asked. “You look kinda pale.”

“I’m fine,” Eydis muttered.

Birgit sipped her orange juice and glanced at the empty seat beside them. “Where’s Natalia? She never skips lunch.”

“Girl eats like a b—” Collete coughed. “Like someone with a very healthy appetite.”

Eydis stabbed her pie with her fork. As a Fire-affinity Gifted, Natalia’s metabolism burned through calories fast. Missing a meal wasn’t like her.

"Maybe she’s still in class?” Birgit suggested. “You know, that secret lesson she wouldn’t tell us about?”

Gifted training. Natalia hadn’t told them? But did her disappearance have anything to do with the unease clawing at Eydis?

Experience told her that coincidences weren’t really coincidences.

Without thinking, she pushed back from the table, chair scraping against the floor.

“Where are you going?” Colette called.

Eydis barely heard her. She was already heading for the door. As she stepped outside, the fresh autumn air that met her skin did little to shake the feeling of unease. If anything, it grew worse. She shut her eyes, concentrating.

There. The shadows.

Her eyes snapped open. The source was near the Chapel. The gym?

She slipped inside the empty basketball court, and the sensation thickened.

A voice startled her. "This area is off-limits, student."

It was one of the teachers, a woman Eydis didn't recognise. But before she could respond, the floor beneath her gave a barely perceptible tremor, and the shadows moved.

"Take me to the source of this, now!" Eydis commanded.

The woman’s expression darkened. “I suggest you watch your tone.”

“I suggest you take me there.”

The teacher bristled. "Mind your language. Detention slips are the least of your worries if you continue to disrespect a faculty member."

“Issue all the detentions you want," Eydis growled, taking a step forward and towering over the shorter woman. “Right after you take me to where this magic is.”

“You… you can sense it?” The teacher’s surprise was genuine, her gaze darting instinctively to the blank wall behind Eydis.

A slow smile played on the Eydis’s lips. She glided towards the wall.

"Wait! STOP! That's the Sanctuary. You don’t have clearance," the teacher shouted.

"I don't." Eydis said calmly, eyes locking onto the access panel. “But you do.”

The teacher froze. Her eyes darted to the access card in Eydis’s hand that she hadn't noticed before. Where had...? She reached for her pocket.

Empty.

Eydis didn’t waste any time and swiped the card against the panel. The panel beeped green, followed by the quiet click of gears and a rush of shifting air.

The wall opened to reveal a stairwell, descending underground. As Eydis stepped through, the entrance closed instantly behind her, leaving the teacher behind in stunned silence.

The Sanctuary. Natalia’s Gifted training ground.

And the shadows.

Natalia was in danger.

The marble floor hit her like a punch, driving the air from her lungs while her strongest flame attack was effortlessly consumed by the purple mist coiling around Tiffany. This wasn’t just magic. The way it slithered around her, brushed her face, made her smile stretch too wide, it felt alive. 

Like it understood. 

Like it enjoyed this.

Natalia groaned, blaming the thought on a brain jolt from the fall.

Tiffany twirled a strand of golden hair around her finger. “Really? That’s it? Boring.”

“It’s a game to you?” Natalia spat.

The blonde grinned. “Maybe?”

Natalia pushed herself to her feet, legs unsteady, crimson eyes glowing.

Tiffany raised her eyebrow. “Still fighting? Or do you just like losing?”

Natalia had never cared much for competition. But the longer this dragged on, the more twisted the fight felt. If Tiffany won this, if she climbed the ranks… what would she do to Eydis? She was already insufferable without magic.

Focus.

Clenching her jaw, Natalia threw her hand forward again, channeling her anger into heat to summon another wave of fire. Sparks burst from her fingertips, then ignited into a roaring wall of fire.

"Predictable," Tiffany scoffed, raising a hand cloaked in the same mist. 

Instead of vanishing like before, the flames hit hard against the violet shield, erupting in a sharp CRACK that rippled through the arena. The impact left the previously clear protective dome shimmering with a lingering purple haze.

Around the arena, the crowd of Gifted students gripped their seats as the ground shook slightly beneath them.

"Hah! Even a C-Class runt can pull off a spark or two,” said Tiffany.

The bully raised her hand, dark energy crackling around her fingertips. "But it won't be enough." she declared, unleashing a tendril of the ominous energy toward Natalia.

With a swift turn, Natalia evaded the brunt of the attack, though a stinging burn seared her arm. Gritting her teeth, she hurled a blazing fireball at Tiffany’s feet. 

Tiffany stumbled back. “You’ve got some nerve,” she hissed, raising her hands as purple mist spiralled into two fierce tendrils. 

Natalia wheezed, wobbling as she got to her feet. Her reserves were gone, and she couldn’t dodge the next hit. The tendril hammered into her chest, driving the air out and leaving her in silent, excruciating pain.

Tears welled in her eyes, blurring the image of Tiffany smirking above her. Magic… she thought bitterly, it was supposed to be a gift. It was supposed to make me feel special.

But all Natalia ever wanted was a normal life. She didn’t mind if it was boring. She wanted the simplest things: baking cookies, chasing sunsets when she felt adventurous, even a dead-end job, and maybe, someday, a family of her own.

As Natalia’s head struck the marble floor, memories she had fought—and failed—to bury surged to the surface: fire, screams, and the sight of Lionel amidst the destruction.

This cursed power, she hated it with every fibre of her being.

Through blurred vision, Natalia saw Tiffany laughing, her face stretched in manic delight. But the sound barely registered over the pounding in her ears and the crackling flames in her memory.

Then Tiffany’s grin faltered. Her eyes widened in panic as her hands rose, trembling and moving against her will.

“No. No!” she whimpered.

Dark tendrils lashed toward Natalia’s heart.

Natalia clenched her eyes shut, a choked sob escaping her lips.

Then silence. The air… distorted.

The audience froze. Tiffany's hands remained suspended mid-air. 

Through her barely parted lids, Natalia glimpsed a silver blur streaking across the arena. A figure materialised between her and the shadows.

The speed was inhuman. A shockwave split the air, leaving the crowd stunned.

CLANG.

A single, effortless swing sent the dark energy scattering. The weapon? 

A wooden sword.

"How...?" Tiffany sputtered in disbelief.

Astra stood between Natalia and Tiffany. A single word escape her lips.

"Stop.” 

But of course, it didn’t listen.

In a split second, the dark energy launched from Tiffany, coiling toward Astra like a striking snake. 

Astra’s sword slashed down, effortlessly severing it mid-air. A terrible wail rang out as the shadow recoiled, slamming back into Tiffany, who collapsed, drained by the force of its return.

“Enough!” Astra raised her voice, her crimson eyes burning.

A violent shudder wracked Tiffany’s unconscious body. But just as Astra stepped towards her, Natalia’s whimper interrupted her.

Astra was beside her in a heartbeat. Checking Natalia's vitals, she turned sharply towards a teacher. "Mr. Grant, medical attention. NOW!”

Natalia felt a strange detachment from her body, the scene around her blurring as if she were watching it through a fog. As she was helped onto the stretcher, a single figure pierced the haze.

Eydis. But where was that familiar spark of mischief in her eyes? In its place, was that… concern? Directed at Natalia? A soft warmth began to grow in her chest, only for the shadows to close in.